Prevalence of Stunting and Its Associated Factors Among Children Aged 6–59 Months in Angolela Tera District, Northeast Ethiopia

Leweyehu Alemaw Mengiste,1 Yoseph Worku,2 Yared Asmare Aynalem,1 Wondimeneh Shibabaw Shiferaw1 1Department of Nursing, College of Health Science, Debre Berhan University, Debre Birhan, Ethiopia; 2Department of Public Health, College of Health Science, Saint Paul Hospital Millennium Medical College, Addis Abeba, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Leweyehu Alemaw Mengiste Tel +251918541682Email lewisbrsh@gmail.comBackground: Though stunting is a major public health problem worldwide. Developing countries are extremely affected regions. In Ethiopia, the child malnutrition rate is one of the most severe public health concerns and is responsible for the serious impact on the nation. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to assess the prevalence of stunting and its associated factors among children below years of age at the community level.Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted by a simple random sampling technique with a sample size of 422 mothers with 6– 59 months of age children. Interviewer administered semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect data. The data were entered using EpiData version 3.1 and analysis was done by SPSS version 24. WHO Anthro software was used for anthropometry calculation. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used. The variables that had significant associations were identified based on P-values ≤ 0.05 and 95% CIs.Result: The findings of this study indicated that approximately 39.4% of the children were stunted. After full control of all variables, male sex (AOR=1.8; 95%CI: 1.23– 2.82), child age from 12 to 23 months (AOR=2.1; 95%CI: 1.22– 4.28), diarrhea morbidity within 2 weeks (AOR=1.8; 95%CI: 1.19– 2.91), and attendance of antenatal care (AOR=0.3; 95% CI: 0.21– 0.45) were significantly associated with stunting.Conclusion: The current study showed that a relatively high prevalence of stunting among children aged 6 to 59 months. The findings of the current study revealed that male sex, age, diarrheal morbidity, and lack of antenatal care follow-up were significant predictors of stunting.Keywords: stunting, healthcare, diet, children, Ethiopia